Week in Review 2017 - 02/03

View from my studio.
January 31, 2017 at 9:00 am

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

When the weather outside is frigid (yes we are back to single digit nights here in Appleton, Wisconsin) witnessing the sun, albeit hidden by a cloud, from my studio warms my heart. Life may be busy. Life may seem crazy. In my studio, I am warm, engaged and able to stitch one piece to another. 

The plan for this week was simply to play with my scraps. Actually, I need a more concrete plan than that, otherwise I would simply stare at the fabric. This is why I maintain a notebook of ideas for experiments to try the next time I feel so inclined. I'm not sure where I stumbled upon Elizabeth Hartman's Mod Mosaic Quilt Blocks, but the tutorial was in my notebook. 

Picking Up the Pieces - 1

What attracted me to Mod Mosaic Quilt Blocks was how the thin strip of a unifying fabric pulled together a cohesive look. An advantage for me is a 17" square quilt works up very quickly. My normal speed is tortoise. I have accepted this about myself, most of the time. Still, I am secretly envious of other fiber artists who speak of making up a quilt from idea to completion in a couple of weeks. So, when I stumble upon a way to work faster without compromising quality, I am going to give it a try.

I actually began Picking Up the Pieces on Monday and had it quilted by Thursday. This was not my sole focus. My job as Chair of SAQA's Exhibition Committee kept me busy for a half day each on Monday and Tuesday with a few more hours on Wednesday. It is always busy during the final days of a call for entry as a team of us help entrants with their questions and concerns. Once all the entries are in they must be vetted for eligibility and some prepped for blind jurying. It is worth the effort, but definitely cuts into my studio time, although this may not be obvious by looking at what I got done.

1) Finishing Where Have All the Flowers Gone? - Started

Detail from Picking Up the Pieces
Click on this or any other image in the post
to see an enlarged view. 

I made the sleeve and started attaching it. 

2) Pot(s) made this week - Done!

I have been pinning quilting designs which speak to me on Pinterest. Many of these involve ruler work. Some are made up of a combination patterns. I am drawn to designs with clear changes in texture. I used Picking Up the Pieces as a way to make pots with free motion quilting. 

What I seem to need to learn over and over again, is don't bother to do any intricate free motion quilting on fabrics with patterns. It just doesn't show up. It is worth it to go to town on solids or fabrics reading as solid. Sometimes a patterned fabric comes to life if you choose the right free motion quilt design. 

3) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

Detail from Picking Up the Pieces
Enhancing the rose petals (lower right) was
a bust. However micro stippling around brown
spots brought them to 3D life as pebbles.

See above.

4)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song - Not Yet

When I began making Picking Up the Pieces I thought I would make a series of blocks in varying hues. What I learned by making it, was for me, once was enough. However, it has me thinking about a new direction to explore, one where I can showcase some of the quilting designs that are calling to me. There is nothing better than finishing a week eager to start all over again. Next week's plans will likely include:

1) Finishing Where Have All the Flowers Gone? 

2) Design Picking Up the Pieces #2

3) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1

4) Pot(s) made this week

5) Free motion quilting practice

6)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song

I am now linking up to two blogs on Fridays. The first is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays and the second is Free Motion Mavericks.

Week in Review 2017 - 1/06

I thought it would be fun to include
a view from my studio as a regular
feature of my blog. This yearling was
checking out the wisteria vine. It is hard
to tell from the photo, but the lake and
river are frozen solid again.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. This could be my motto. Sometimes the number of times I need to try again easily reaches double digits. One of these times is mastering bias presser bars. The link to the video I provided for how to create a bias tube makes the process look easy. It would be relatively easy if, and that should be IF you were making a stem no longer than the bias bar. The problem comes when you have seams in your tube. The bar gets caught at the seam, especially if you follow the directions on the package. Why? There is insufficient wiggle room to manipulate the bar through the tube and it gets hung up at the seams inside the tube. This time I made a slightly oversized tube, allowing a circumference with a 1/4" of wiggle room. The tube according to the directions would finish at a 1" circumference. Instead it finishes at 1 1/4". That bonus 1/4" gave me just enough room to manipulate the bar through the tube without ever getting hung up. Considering the tube was approximately 4 yards long with internal seams every 12" or less, it was pure joy to finally get it right.

Now you can see why I need so
many yards of stem/vine. I pinned
in it in place. Then changed my
mind. Time to try something else.

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song - Not Yet.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Not Really

I didn't do any free motion quilting. However, I have been working on my satin stitch and blind hem stitch (both by machine) for securing the appliqués on my quilt. 

3) Do some surface design work - Not Done

4) Continue working on Where Have All the Flowers Gone? - Done

I added the easel, hand stitched down the bias binding surrounding the Make Art panel, added NOT WAR and the thin line of blue satin stitch on three sides of the tombstone. I also tested out the first of ways to incorporate flowers and vines onto the piece.

5) Pot(s) made this week - Done

Back to its pre vine state.

The key for me when making pots is what did I learn from each pot made. Years of attempting to make bias stems taught me that the bias presser bar got hung up at internal seams. What eluded me was the solution on how to avoid this in the future. Opting not to make stems was only viable if I didn't need stems. Too bad the stems/vines didn't work. The lesson - they are too busy and distracting. Next week's pot making will be to try less distracting solutions.

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Continue working on Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

4) Pot(s) made this week

I am now linking up to two blogs on Fridays. The first is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays and the second is Free Motion Mavericks.